Coachella: Paul McCartney, it was Paul McCartney
Kevin Bronson on
1
It’s Saturday morning, the coffee hasn’t yet rid me of the Coachella Day 1 hangover, and I’m still in something of a trance-like state after Paul McCartney’s nearly-three-hour headlining set Friday night on the main stage.
I’m very fortunate to be a child of the ’60s and ’70s, when the artistic progression of pop music paralleled the growth of my own worldview. In those less cynical times, the Beatles informed virtually every life-changing event – many of which I relived during McCartney’s tour de catalog in front of a crowd that had to approach 40,000. I’d never seen a Beatle, and yeah, I was moved to tears a couple of times, especially when he busted out My Favorite Song of All Time, “A Day in the Life.”
The lanky left-hander seemed a bit giddy, even loopy, but after arriving onstage 20 minutes late and kicking things off with Wings, the set turned intensely personal. He dedicated “My Love” to his late wife Linda – Friday was the 11th anniversary of her passing – and “Here and Today” to John Lennon, in whose memory the crowd gave a rousing ovation. Even the music from his newest project, the Fireman, held up well amid the memory-lane soundtrack.
Looking askance at some drunk goofballs in the VIP area, a friend said to me during the set, “Most of these people will never be in the presence of a songwriter like this,” leaving unsaid that they should cherish the moment. It was my cue to exit the relative spaciousness of that area and wander through the sea of humanity. Maybe it was the evening’s cool desert breeze, but I kept getting the chills.
Indeed, Paul McCartney and Leonard Cohen showed the kids how it is done. Paul has a lot of critics, but you cannot deny is truly one of the greatest songwriters on the planet. I felt very fortunate to hear him perform his (and his friend’s) music on Friday.